Scottish Executive

Air Services

Mr Alasdair Morrison (Western Isles) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is ensuring that people in the Highlands and Islands are being included in the consultation on the future of air services.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive and the UK Department for Transport have jointly conducted a series of consultation events on the Future Development of Air Transport. Highlands and Islands representatives were invited to all these events. Anyone can participate in the consultation by completing a questionnaire or submitting written comments.

Anti-Social Neighbours

Trish Godman (West Refrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Executive is planning any legislative measures to deal with nuisance neighbours.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill, currently before Parliament, will introduce new provisions to allow for interim Anti-social Behaviour Orders. This builds on earlier legislation including the provisions for probationary tenancies in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001.

Autism

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30228 by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 October 2002, whether the Medical Research Council research projects into autism or the steering group on autism will take evidence from people with autism, their parents, advocates of adults with autism or recognised experts on autism who are not psychiatrists and will involve or have as members any people with autism or parents of autistic children.

Mr Frank McAveety: The steering group on autism will guide the implementation of a strategy for research in line with the recommendations of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Autism Review. A key element of this review was the dialogue with stakeholders, including consumers. This process will continue and is reflected in the terms of reference for the steering group which include "to facilitate consumer involvement in taking forward this strategy and in the dissemination of research findings". As part of this process, the MRC will hold a meeting in April 2003 which will involve parents, carers and scientists, and will be organised jointly with the National Autistic Society. The steering group itself includes two lay people, one of whom is the parent of sons with autism. The steering group will continue to seek advice from all relevant stakeholders.

BSE

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many tonnes of rendered cattle carcasses remain in storage following BSE outbreaks and at what specific locations such rendered remains are being stored.

Ross Finnie: At the start of November 85,000 tonnes of meat and bonemeal remain in storage across the UK, at various locations, including one in Scotland at Whitehill Industrial Estate, Glenrothes.

  The Executive has provided a corrected answer which is published in the Written Answer Report on 26 November 2002

BSE

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual costs are of storing rendered cattle carcasses that remain in storage following BSE outbreaks.

Ross Finnie: The yearly cost of storing Over Thirty Months Slaughter Scheme (OTMS) rendered products (meat and bonemeal (MBM) and tallow) peaked at around £21 million in the 2001-02 financial year when 15 MBM stores and three tallow stores were on contract throughout the UK. Costs are reducing as stores are emptied and decommissioned. Stocks are disposed of by incineration with energy recovery.

BSE

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans are in place for the final disposal of the rendered cattle carcasses that remain in storage following BSE outbreaks and what methods of disposal will be used.

Ross Finnie: The Rural Payments Agency is responsible on behalf of all UK Agriculture Ministers for the operation of the Over Thirty Months Slaughter Scheme (OTMS), including disposal. The two products of OTMS rendering, meat and bonemeal (MBM) and tallow, are incinerated with energy recovery. The agency achieved its target of incinerating 60% of MBM produced by 31 March 2002, and is making good progress towards the second target of incinerating at least 85% of MBM produced by 31 March 2004.

  Tallow arisings are also being incinerated and the large-scale disposal of tallow stocks will commence in the new year.

BSE

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the contract arrangements will be for the final disposal of the rendered cattle carcasses that remain in storage following BSE outbreaks and which contractors have been employed so far.

Ross Finnie: The material is incinerated with energy recovery. The Rural Payments Agency has contracts in place for this work with three companies.

BSE

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many tonnes of BSE-infected cattle carcasses have been through final disposal; what disposal method was used; who the contractors were, and what the cost of disposal was.

Ross Finnie: Nine thousand nine hundred and twenty-six carcasses, which equate to approximately 5,000 tonnes, have been incinerated in Scotland out of a total of 179,608 in the UK. The carcasses of bovines identified on-farm as showing clinical signs of BSE are incinerated at two sites in Scotland, under contract with the Scottish Agricultural College. Contractual terms are not released on the grounds of commercial confidentiality.

BSE

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive by what date rendered cattle carcasses remaining in storage following BSE outbreaks will have been through final disposal and what the projected cost is of such disposal.

Ross Finnie: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is responsible on behalf of all UK Agriculture Ministers for the operation of the Over Thirty Months Slaughter Scheme (OTMS), including disposal. RPA is committed to reducing meat and bonemeal (MBM) and tallow stocks to very low levels by the end of 2004. However, while the scheme continues to operate in its current format, there will continue to be some stocks in store. As there are no large-scale incineration facilities in Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland, any long-term storage is likely to be in England, close to the incineration sites. As there is no end date yet proposed for OTMS it is not possible to estimate final volumes or costs for the disposal of all rendered material that the scheme will generate.

BSE

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated total costs are for dealing with BSE-infected cattle, broken down by costs of (a) slaughter, (b) transportation to storage, (c) storage, (d) transportation to final disposal and (e) final disposal.

Ross Finnie: As of 31 March 2002 the cumulative cost - for the UK - of slaughter, transportation to incineration and incineration of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) carcasses (including a small proportion of scrapie-infected sheep) was £52.7 million. This figure also includes laboratory equipment costs. BSE-infected carcasses go straight for incineration and are not held in storage, there are no costs incurred for storage purposes.

BSE

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what security measures are in place at the storage locations for rendered cattle carcasses in storage following BSE outbreaks and who the contractor is for, and what the costs are of, such measures.

Ross Finnie: The security of the stores is primarily the responsibility of the storekeeper and is covered in the contract. A strict control regime is also in place. The stores and vehicles travelling to and from them are sealed and operated on a dedicated basis. All loads are tracked, weighed at both ends of the journey and subject to documentary control, including comprehensive stock and movements records at each site. In the UK the Meat and Livestock Commission supervise activity, and they are subject to second-tier checks by technical officers. Inactive stores are also subject to regular checks.

Bridges

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent studies it has undertaken in regard to the Balmoor Bridge on the A90 north of Peterhead and whether it has any plans to replace the bridge.

Lewis Macdonald: Recent maintenance inspections of Balmoor Bridge and an assessment of the structure for its load carrying capacity have confirmed that the bridge is suitable for current trunk road purposes. There are no plans to replace the bridge.

Child Welfare

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to change legislation in order to combat abuse of children via the internet.

Mr Jim Wallace: Existing statute and common law already provides protection against child abuse. The general position in law is that what is illegal offline is also illegal online. The law therefore covers the abuse of children via the internet as well as elsewhere. However, the Executive keeps the criminal law under review to ensure that appropriate action is taken to strengthen it where necessary.

Child Welfare

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to help prevent the abuse of children via the internet.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Police Service and the Crown Office have taken steps to improve their existing training on internet crime, including child abuse. The Executive joined with the Home Office in running a UK-wide Internet Child Safety campaign between December 2001 and March 2002. The aim of the campaign was to inform children, young people and their parents/carers of the potential dangers of, and allow them to protect themselves when using, the internet. Dedicated websites and a helpline have been established to offer information and advice following the conclusion of the official campaign.

  The Executive is committed to strengthening all aspects of child protection to prevent child abuse in any form. The inter-agency audit and review of child protection has been looking at ways of reducing abuse and neglect and improving services for those affected. The review report will be published at the end of the year and the Executive will respond to its recommendations.

Community Safety

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it still plans to establish a national database of good practice in community safety and, if so, what progress has been made in doing so.

Dr Richard Simpson: The national community safety website ( www.saferscotland.org ) went live on 6 September. The site will enable community safety partners to share and highlight best practice. Its main features are individual pages for each organisation with an interest in community safety i.e. local authority, police force, fire brigade, health board and various national organisations; a news page publicising new initiatives; a forum allowing the sharing of best practice and advice, and toolkits providing practical information on community safety and crime prevention.

Crime

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in respect of what percentage of (a) reported incidences of and (b) total prosecutions for vandalism prosecutions were successful in each year since 1997, broken down by (i) sheriffdom and (ii) police force area.

Mr Jim Wallace: Information on crimes recorded by the police is not available by sheriffdom. The requested information on crimes recorded by police force area is published in Table 4A of the statistical bulletin Recorded Crimes in Scotland . Copies of the bulletins for 1997 to 2001 are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 24795, 16613, 7079, 13119 and 20798).

  The available information on persons proceeded against where the charge is proved is given in the following table. The statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable as a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime involving more than one victim, and a crime may be recorded in one year and proceedings taken in a subsequent year. Charges recorded by the police may also be altered as a result of the judicial process.

  Persons with a Charge Proved for Vandalism etc1, by Sheriffdom and Police Force Area, 1997-2000

  


Sheriffdom/Police Force Area 
  

Total Number with a Charge Proved 
  

Percentage of All Proceeded Against 
  



1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  



Sheriffdom 
  



Glasgow and Strathkelvin 
  

517 
  

483 
  

393 
  

342 
  

78 
  

81 
  

75 
  

71 
  



Grampian, Highland and Islands 
  

837 
  

813 
  

743 
  

629 
  

91 
  

92 
  

92 
  

92 
  



Lothian and Borders 
  

716 
  

591 
  

575 
  

539 
  

93 
  

92 
  

93 
  

92 
  



North Strathclyde 
  

620 
  

598 
  

523 
  

488 
  

80 
  

83 
  

81 
  

78 
  



South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway 
  

775 
  

715 
  

606 
  

685 
  

80 
  

81 
  

83 
  

80 
  



Tayside, Central and Fife 
  

1,150 
  

1,020 
  

930 
  

973 
  

83 
  

84 
  

83 
  

85 
  



Police Force Area 
  



Central 
  

369 
  

276 
  

265 
  

270 
  

83 
  

82 
  

87 
  

90 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

137 
  

111 
  

109 
  

147 
  

91 
  

80 
  

84 
  

81 
  



Fife 
  

369 
  

331 
  

269 
  

280 
  

90 
  

89 
  

90 
  

91 
  



Grampian 
  

540 
  

510 
  

484 
  

383 
  

94 
  

95 
  

94 
  

92 
  



Lothian and Borders 
  

716 
  

591 
  

575 
  

539 
  

93 
  

92 
  

93 
  

92 
  



Northern 
  

297 
  

303 
  

259 
  

246 
  

86 
  

88 
  

89 
  

92 
  



Strathclyde 
  

1,775 
  

1,685 
  

1,413 
  

1,368 
  

79 
  

82 
  

80 
  

77 
  



Tayside 
  

412 
  

413 
  

396 
  

423 
  

78 
  

81 
  

76 
  

78 
  



Scotland2


4,616 
  

4,220 
  

3,774 
  

3,656 
  

84 
  

85 
  

85 
  

84 
  



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes High Court and court or police force not known.

Crime

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in respect of what percentage of (a) reported incidences of and (b) total prosecutions for drug-related crime prosecutions were successful in each year since 1997, broken down by (i) sheriffdom and (ii) police force area.

Mr Jim Wallace: The available information relates to the offences of the illegal importation, cultivation, supply or possession of drugs. Other offences may be drug-related, such as those committed to fund a drug habit, but these cannot be separately identified within the recorded crime and court proceedings statistics held centrally.

  Information on crimes recorded by the police is not available by sheriffdom. The requested information on crimes recorded by police force area is published in Table 4A of the statistical bulletin Recorded Crimes in Scotland. Copies of the bulletins for 1997 to 2001 are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 24795, 16613, 7079, 13119 and 20798).

  The available information on persons proceeded against where the charge is proved is given in the following table. The statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable as a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime involving more than one victim, and a crime may be recorded in one year and proceedings taken in a subsequent year. Charges recorded by the police may also be altered as a result of the judicial process.

  Persons with a Charge Proved for Drug Offences1, by Sheriffdom and Police Force Area, 1997-2000

  


Sheriffdom/Police Force Area 
  

Total Number with a Charge Proved 
  

Percentage of All Proceeded Against 
  



1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  



Sheriffdom 
  



Glasgow and Strathkelvin 
  

1,318 
  

1,437 
  

1,347 
  

1,048 
  

77 
  

80 
  

77 
  

75 
  



Grampian, Highland and Islands 
  

1,215 
  

1,173 
  

909 
  

675 
  

92 
  

92 
  

92 
  

91 
  



Lothian and Borders 
  

935 
  

821 
  

763 
  

699 
  

96 
  

94 
  

92 
  

91 
  



North Strathclyde 
  

1,028 
  

1,174 
  

996 
  

813 
  

83 
  

85 
  

83 
  

82 
  



South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway 
  

1,157 
  

1,083 
  

1,087 
  

1,050 
  

85 
  

81 
  

82 
  

83 
  



Tayside, Central and Fife 
  

1,047 
  

968 
  

988 
  

819 
  

86 
  

85 
  

86 
  

87 
  



Police Force Area 
  



Central 
  

271 
  

234 
  

248 
  

223 
  

91 
  

85 
  

91 
  

91 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

244 
  

175 
  

143 
  

116 
  

89 
  

85 
  

89 
  

89 
  



Fife 
  

344 
  

302 
  

265 
  

146 
  

80 
  

83 
  

83 
  

80 
  



Grampian 
  

826 
  

811 
  

611 
  

415 
  

93 
  

92 
  

92 
  

92 
  



Lothian and Borders 
  

935 
  

821 
  

763 
  

699 
  

96 
  

94 
  

92 
  

91 
  



Northern 
  

389 
  

362 
  

298 
  

260 
  

90 
  

90 
  

91 
  

91 
  



Strathclyde 
  

3,259 
  

3,519 
  

3,287 
  

2,795 
  

81 
  

81 
  

80 
  

79 
  



Tayside 
  

432 
  

432 
  

475 
  

450 
  

89 
  

85 
  

85 
  

88 
  



Scotland2


7,005 
  

6,918 
  

6,400 
  

5,383 
  

85 
  

85 
  

83 
  

83 
  



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes High Court and court or police force not known.

Crime

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in respect of what percentage of (a) reported incidences of and (b) total prosecutions for muggings prosecutions were successful in each year since 1997, broken down by (i) sheriffdom and (ii) police force area.

Mr Jim Wallace: Muggings are included within the Scottish Executive Justice Department crime category for robbery but cannot be separately identified in the recorded crime and court proceedings statistics held centrally.

  Information on crimes recorded by the police is not available by sheriffdom. The information on crimes recorded by police force area is published in Table 4A of the statistical bulletin Recorded Crimes in Scotland. Copies of the bulletins for 1997 to 2001 are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 24795, 16613, 7079, 13119 and 20798).

  The available information on persons proceeded against where the charge is proved is given in the following table. The statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable as a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime involving more than one victim, and a crime may be recorded in one year and proceedings taken in a subsequent year. Charges recorded by the police may also be altered as a result of the judicial process.

  Persons with a Charge Proved for Robbery1, by Sheriffdom and Police Force Area, 1997-2000

  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes High Court and court or police force not known.

Crime

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in respect of what percentage of (a) reported incidences of and (b) total prosecutions for assault prosecutions were successful in each year since 1997, broken down by (i) sheriffdom and (ii) police force area.

Mr Jim Wallace: Information on crimes recorded by the police is not available by sheriffdom. The information on crimes recorded by police force area is given in the following table.

  Number of Crimes of Serious and Simple Assault Recorded by the Police, by Police Force Area, 1997-2001

  


Police Force Area 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  



Central 
  

2,437 
  

2,483 
  

2,609 
  

2,709 
  

3,000 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

1,589 
  

1,469 
  

1,519 
  

1,273 
  

1,172 
  



Fife 
  

3,214 
  

3,289 
  

3,351 
  

3,600 
  

3,693 
  



Grampian 
  

5,610 
  

5,871 
  

6,106 
  

6,146 
  

6,257 
  



Lothian and Borders 
  

11,738 
  

11,521 
  

12,490 
  

13,702 
  

12,488 
  



Northern 
  

2,263 
  

2,478 
  

2,341 
  

2,240 
  

2,509 
  



Strathclyde 
  

25,296 
  

25,881 
  

27,695 
  

27,187 
  

28,234 
  



Tayside 
  

3,237 
  

3,802 
  

4,201 
  

4,126 
  

3,990 
  



Scotland 
  

55,384 
  

56,794 
  

60,312 
  

60,983 
  

61,343 
  



  The available information on persons proceeded against where the charge is proved is given in the following table. The statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable as a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime involving more than one victim, and a crime may be recorded in one year and proceedings taken in a subsequent year. Charges recorded by the police may also be altered as a result of the judicial process.

  Persons with a Charge Proved for Assault1, by Sheriffdom and Police Force Area, 1997-2000

  


Sheriffdom/Police Force Area 
  

Total Number with a Charge Proved 
  

Percentage of All Proceeded Against 
  



1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  



Sheriffdom 
  



Glasgow and Strathkelvin 
  

2,488 
  

2,247 
  

1,967 
  

1,844 
  

76 
  

75 
  

72 
  

70 
  



Grampian, Highland and Islands 
  

2,101 
  

2,077 
  

1,848 
  

1,638 
  

86 
  

88 
  

87 
  

88 
  



Lothian and Borders 
  

2,155 
  

2,121 
  

1,831 
  

1,797 
  

85 
  

84 
  

86 
  

86 
  



North Strathclyde 
  

1,872 
  

1,867 
  

1,782 
  

1,621 
  

74 
  

75 
  

75 
  

72 
  



South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway 
  

2,240 
  

2,134 
  

1,935 
  

1,864 
  

71 
  

72 
  

73 
  

73 
  



Tayside, Central and Fife 
  

2,375 
  

2,258 
  

2,321 
  

2,256 
  

77 
  

77 
  

77 
  

78 
  



Police Force Area 
  



Central 
  

659 
  

595 
  

596 
  

656 
  

77 
  

81 
  

80 
  

81 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

388 
  

327 
  

361 
  

290 
  

78 
  

77 
  

83 
  

77 
  



Fife 
  

748 
  

634 
  

619 
  

538 
  

84 
  

81 
  

82 
  

81 
  



Grampian 
  

1,370 
  

1,380 
  

1,172 
  

1,021 
  

89 
  

90 
  

87 
  

88 
  



Lothian and Borders 
  

2,155 
  

2,121 
  

1,831 
  

1,797 
  

85 
  

84 
  

86 
  

86 
  



Northern 
  

731 
  

697 
  

676 
  

617 
  

81 
  

83 
  

87 
  

88 
  



Strathclyde 
  

6,213 
  

5,921 
  

5,323 
  

5,039 
  

73 
  

74 
  

73 
  

71 
  



Tayside 
  

968 
  

1,029 
  

1,106 
  

1,062 
  

72 
  

73 
  

73 
  

74 
  



Scotland2


13,440 
  

12,914 
  

11,895 
  

11,190 
  

78 
  

78 
  

78 
  

77 
  



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes High Court and court or police force not known.

Crime

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in respect of what percentage of (a) reported incidences of and (b) total prosecutions for burglary prosecutions were successful in each year since 1997, broken down by (i) sheriffdom and (ii) police force area.

Mr Jim Wallace: Information on crimes recorded by the police is not available by sheriffdom. The requested information on crimes recorded by police force area is published in Table 4A of the statistical bulletin Recorded Crimes in Scotland . Copies of the bulletins for 1997 to 2001 are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 24795, 16613, 7079, 13119 and 20798).

  The available information on persons proceeded against where the charge is proved is given in the following table. The statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable as a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime involving more than one victim, and a crime may be recorded in one year and proceedings taken in a subsequent year. Charges recorded by the police may also be altered as a result of the judicial process.

  Persons with a Charge Proved Housebreaking1, by Sheriffdom and Police Force Area, 1997-2000

  


Sheriffdom/Police Force Area 
  

Total Number with a Charge Proved 
  

Percentage of All Proceeded Against 
  



1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  



Sheriffdom 
  



Glasgow and Strathkelvin 
  

549 
  

491 
  

554 
  

363 
  

77 
  

76 
  

81 
  

78 
  



Grampian, Highland and Islands 
  

621 
  

575 
  

573 
  

500 
  

88 
  

86 
  

88 
  

89 
  



Lothian and Borders 
  

485 
  

366 
  

331 
  

387 
  

89 
  

88 
  

90 
  

88 
  



North Strathclyde 
  

456 
  

512 
  

532 
  

471 
  

78 
  

79 
  

79 
  

80 
  



South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway 
  

380 
  

400 
  

372 
  

366 
  

72 
  

76 
  

79 
  

82 
  



Tayside, Central and Fife 
  

779 
  

618 
  

652 
  

592 
  

79 
  

79 
  

81 
  

85 
  



Police Force Area 
  



Central 
  

159 
  

102 
  

139 
  

108 
  

77 
  

73 
  

79 
  

88 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

99 
  

116 
  

103 
  

108 
  

83 
  

85 
  

87 
  

86 
  



Fife 
  

347 
  

294 
  

330 
  

292 
  

89 
  

89 
  

92 
  

89 
  



Grampian 
  

497 
  

469 
  

469 
  

429 
  

90 
  

87 
  

88 
  

89 
  



Lothian and Borders 
  

485 
  

366 
  

331 
  

387 
  

89 
  

88 
  

90 
  

88 
  



Northern 
  

124 
  

106 
  

104 
  

71 
  

84 
  

85 
  

86 
  

87 
  



Strathclyde 
  

1,286 
  

1,287 
  

1,355 
  

1,092 
  

75 
  

76 
  

79 
  

79 
  



Tayside 
  

273 
  

222 
  

183 
  

192 
  

71 
  

71 
  

68 
  

77 
  



Scotland2


3,275 
  

2,977 
  

3,021 
  

2,686 
  

81 
  

80 
  

82 
  

84 
  



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes High Court and court or police force not known.

Crime

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive why it does not specify that a percentage of grants awarded under the Community Safety Partnership Award Programme must be spent on counteracting racist and homophobic crime and gender-based abuse given that it does specify that 18% of the grants awarded under the programme must be spent on drug-related issues.

Dr Richard Simpson: It is for local Community Safety Partnerships to determine the local community safety priorities, normally following a community safety audit and consultation with the community.

  Budget consequentials for anti-drug activities funded £750,000 (18%) of the total annual £4 million Community Safety Partnership Award Programme, which is why this proportion of the overall spend must address drug-related issues.

  Partnerships can use the remaining 82% of their allocation to fund other crime prevention and community safety priorities as specified in their community safety strategies and action plans. We do not prescribe what those priorities, which have been identified through a local audit process, should be.

Drug Misuse

Mr Tom McCabe (Hamilton South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the number of ecstasy-related deaths in 2001 in Scotland compared with England and Wales.

Dr Richard Simpson: The General Register Office for Scotland paper on Drug-Related Deaths in Scotland in 2001 shows that ecstasy was known to be involved in the deaths of 20 people resulting from drug poisoning or overdose. However, we need to be clear that this does not mean that ecstasy was solely responsible for these deaths, as implied in some recent media articles.

  It is likely that ecstasy, in some cases in conjunction with alcohol, was primarily responsible for only six of these deaths. There were 10 deaths involving poly-drug misuse, where it was not possible to identify the primary drug or drugs responsible. It should be noted, however, that all 10 of these cases involved an opiate, such as heroin, and/or a benzodiazepine. Whilst recorded as being present, ecstasy was not directly involved in the four remaining deaths.

  The media reports also compared the figure of 20 deaths in Scotland, with a figure of 40 deaths in England and Wales. We understand that the figure for England and Wales comes from a study of deaths in 2001 by St George’s Hospital Medical School. The St George’s study uses a different methodology from the GROS Paper, so the figures are not directly comparable.

Education

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Executive’s policy is on fingerprinting of children in schools.

Mr Jim Wallace: I believe that this question relates to a relatively new library system that is being used in two Scottish local authorities and other schools elsewhere in the UK.

  The system uses fingerprint recognition technology to identify pupils without taking or storing their fingerprints. Its use is a matter for individual schools and local authorities, but parents and pupils should be consulted on its use. Parents and pupils have the right to opt out of the system.

Education

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any funding arising from end-year flexibility will be made available directly to schools in the current financial year.

Nicol Stephen: There is currently no end-year flexibility and consequently no funding decisions have been made.

Emergency Services

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to respond to recent attacks on emergency services staff.

Dr Richard Simpson: These continuing attacks on emergency services staff are deplorable and we condemn them in the strongest possible terms. We debated these issues in Parliament in September when there was considerable consensus about the importance of protecting emergency service personnel. There are already a range of protective measures and strategies in place and we need to ensure that these are effective, as well as considering what more might be done.

Employment

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is introducing to prevent further job losses in Ayrshire.

Iain Gray: I fully appreciate the particular difficulties being faced by the wider Ayrshire economy, and am confident that the local agencies will meet these challenges through their shared long-term economic development strategy to boost the local economy and create jobs for local people. This strategy was agreed in principle by the Local Economic Forum on Friday 8 November and focuses on the key objectives of boosting the economy; increasing connectivity to markets; developing a positive workforce; reducing unemployment in Ayrshire, and promoting a pride in Ayrshire.

Employment

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been employed through the WORKSTEP Programme since the programme’s inception and, of these, how many have subsequently moved into unsupported employment.

Iain Gray: Responsibility for employment matters is reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to WORKSTEP. This programme is managed by Jobcentre Plus which is part of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Environment

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities are required to report the results of environmental impact assessments on proposals for new or extended landfill sites for hazardous waste.

Hugh Henry: Yes.

  Under the Environmental Impact Assessment (Scotland) Regulations 1999, when a decision is made on a planning application to which they apply, the planning authority must inform the Scottish ministers in writing and inform the public by a notice in a local newspaper or such other means as are reasonable in the circumstances. They must also make available for public inspection a statement containing:

  (i) the content of the decision and any conditions attached thereto;

  (ii) the main reasons and considerations on which the decision is based, and

  (iii) the description, where necessary, of the main measures to avoid, reduce and, if possible, offset the major adverse effects of the development.

Ferry Services

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place a copy of the tender pack for the passenger-only vessel on the Gourock to Dunoon route in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-31068 on 13 November 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Ferry Services

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will reply to the letter of 21 October 2002 from Norse Island Ferries regarding its application for the livestock shipping service from the northern isles to Aberdeen to be included in the Tariff Rebate Support Scheme.

Lewis Macdonald: My officials replied to the Norse Island Ferries letter on 6 November.

Fisheries

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider amending the tiered testing proposals for amnesic shellfish poisoning in scallops, in view of concerns from the scallop industry.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The Food Standards Agency have assured me that they will consider all points made by the scallop industry in regard to the proposed tiered system. Where possible they will be incorporating any suggested measures in their recommendations to ministers. The overriding concern is to develop a regime to meet legal requirements and to safeguard public health.

Fisheries

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve public access to angling on rivers and lochs.

Allan Wilson: A review of the existing system of Protection Orders, made under the Freshwater and Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1976, is scheduled to begin in March 2003.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30423 by Ross Finnie on 1 November 2002, whether it will give a brief analysis of each response to its consultation on technical conservation measures for the scallop industry, showing (a) the name of the individual or body responding to the consultation, (b) the date of the submission, (c) a short synopsis of the content of the points made in the submission and (d) whether the respondent supported or opposed a weekend ban; if so, whether it will do so before any statutory instrument on this matter is laid before the Parliament, and whether it will ensure that the Rural Development Committee has an opportunity to consider fully such an analysis before any such instrument is laid.

Ross Finnie: No; the responses, except those which are confidential, are publicly available in the Scottish Executive Library, K-Spur, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will not lay any statutory instrument on technical conservation measures in respect of the scallop industry in light of (a) opposition to the measures expressed in evidence to the Rural Development Committee by representatives of the industry on 8 October 2002 and (b) the recommendations of the committee expressed in its letter of 11 October 2002 to the Minister for Environment and Rural Development.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive will of course take into account such views before laying any statutory instrument.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of any threat to the future of the scallop industry from the Food Standards Agency’s proposed tiered testing regime, it is premature for any technical conservation measures to be introduced until the impact of implementing European Directive 91/492/EEC or the derogation under European Commission Decision 2002/226/EC has been promptly considered.

Ross Finnie: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-30607 on 6 November 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs there are in the scallop industry.

Ross Finnie: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-30603 on 30 October 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the impact of the proposed weekend ban for the scallop industry on the industry’s ability to continue to send scallops to the major Spanish market on Thursdays, which caters for Spanish weekend consumers.

Ross Finnie: The information regarding the impact of the proposed weekend ban on scallop exports to Spain has only recently been submitted to the Scottish Executive. It is being assessed by officials and will be fully considered before any statutory instrument is laid before Parliament.

Football

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give an update on progress on the joint bid with Ireland to host the European Football Championships in 2008.

Mike Watson: Good progress is being made on the Scotland/Ireland bid for the European Football Championships in 2008, with a number of linked events and announcements scheduled during the run up to the UEFA decision on 12 December in order to impress on the UEFA Executive Committee the strengths of our bid.

  Despite the strong competition, we have been encouraged by independent assessments that ours is regarded as a front runner; we believe this reflects the inherent quality of our bid. We also believe that we have submitted the best possible bid for Euro 2008 and look forward to the UEFA decision.

Genetically Modified Crops

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to introduce a moratorium on GM crop trials.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has no plans to introduce a moratorium on GM crop trials. Ministers and the Executive have made clear that autumn 2002 is the final round of the farm scale evaluation (FSE) programme and that there will be no commercial growing of GM crops pending the results of the FSE research programme and the outcome of the public debate.

Health

Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in the NHS through the Centre for Change and Innovation.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Centre for Change and Innovation was established on 1 November 2002.

  It will support frontline staff and managers as they lead change and redesign services round the needs of patients.

Health

Elaine Thomson (Aberdeen North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to tackle delayed discharge.

Malcolm Chisholm: Our Delayed Discharge Action Plan, which was launched on 5 March 2002, set out a range of short- and long-term measures for reducing the number of people experiencing a delay in their discharge from hospital. This year, we have backed our action plan with a £20 million additional investment, and are requiring local authority and NHS board partnerships to use that to move 1,000 additional people from hospital to more appropriate forms of care by April 2003. As announced recently, we will increase that level of funding to £30 million for each of the following three years – but only on the condition that local partnerships meet the initial targets we have set for this year.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether fluoride is a medicinal product and, if so, whether it has a product licence.

Malcolm Chisholm: Fluoride is a chemical with many different uses. Because of this, products containing fluoride are controlled under many different regulatory schemes according to the purpose of the product. As an example of this fluoride can be found in products used by human beings as medicinal products, food supplements and cosmetic products. According to records held by the Medicines Control Agency there are 51 licensed medicines containing fluoride as an active substance and a further two which contain fluoride as an excipient.

Housing

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any concerns about the level of voids in local authority housing.

Hugh Henry: The Accounts Commission collects information on void levels in local authorities, which is published annually. The management of voids is, however, a matter for individual local authorities.

Justice

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many reports to procurators fiscal of offences under section 52 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) Scotland Act 1995 were marked no proceedings in respect of each category recognised by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in each of the last five years.

Colin Boyd QC: The information requested is not readily available in the format required. The information systems operated by the department were designed for case tracking rather than for the production of statistical information. Systems currently in development will, in due course, facilitate the provision of data on a wider basis than is presently possible.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when, in the consultation process for the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill prior to the bill's publication, the acquisition of adjacent salmon fishings was proposed to be subject to the crofting community right to buy.

Ross Finnie: The first occasion when responses to a consultation proposed that crofters should have a right to buy salmon fishings was in responses to the paper on the crofting community right to buy circulated to members of the Crofting Consultative Panel. Four of those responses suggested this.

  The bill does not provide for the purchase of adjacent salmon fishings but only for the purchase of salmon fishings that are exercisable from and on croft land.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when salmon fishing owners were consulted about the proposed inclusion of salmon fishings in the crofting community right to buy contained in Part 3 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Ross Finnie: The proposals in the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill were the outcome of extensive public consultation, dating back to 1997, to which salmon fishing owners were free to respond. The Scottish Landowners Federation (SLF) has responded at every stage of consultation and made representations to ministers on several occasions about the land reform proposals. It is our understanding that the SLF represents the interests of many people who own salmon fishings.

  The Scottish Executive undertook a full public consultation on the draft bill which contained these proposals. Salmon fishing interests including owners responded to that consultation and commented on the proposals. In addition, parliamentary committees took evidence from a group representing the interests of owners of salmon fishings and from the SLF during stage 1 consideration of the bill.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why salmon fishings are the only non-croft land to be included in the crofting community right to buy contained in Part 3 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Ross Finnie: Salmon fishings are not the only non-croft land to be included in the crofting community right to buy. The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill provides for the acquisition by the crofting community body of additional land that is not croft land. Salmon fishings and minerals are separate tenements of land and as a consequence may be held on a separate title from the land itself. Both of these can be acquired by the crofting community body through the crofting community right to buy along with or separately from the croft land.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will lodge an amendment to the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill that would enable crofting communities to buy salmon fishings on croft land and not on adjacent land and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Ross Finnie: Since the provisions of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill would not enable crofting communities to buy salmon fishings that cannot be exploited from croft land there is no need to amend the bill in the manner suggested.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why salmon fishings were defined as "eligible croft land" in the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill as introduced after being defined as "eligible additional land" in the draft bill.

Ross Finnie: The handling of the crofting community right to buy salmon fishings in the draft bill text would not have delivered the intended policy outcome. The policy intention is that crofting community bodies should be able to apply for the right to buy salmon fishings located on or directly exercisable from the croft land which they were acquiring or had acquired through the exercise of the crofting community right to buy. It was not intended that crofting communities should be able to acquire, through the right to buy, salmon fishings on or exercisable from additional land that they might acquire or that their acquisition of salmon fishings should be subject to the additional tests found in section 74 of the bill.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why there will be no public hearings on the exercise of the crofting community right to buy contained in the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, given practices under standard compulsory purchase legislation.

Ross Finnie: This legislation does not seek to emulate compulsory purchase legislation in every respect. Section 70 provides that ministers must publicise applications and seek views from those identified as interested parties in order to consider all relevant factors before coming to a decision. However, where there are matters relating to an application that are disputed, section 78 provides that these issues will be resolved by the land court. The proceedings of the land court are normally conducted in public.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why no test of necessity forms part of the crofting community right to buy contained in the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, given practices under standard compulsory purchase legislation.

Ross Finnie: The powers of compulsory acquisition in the bill do not seek to emulate compulsory purchase legislation in every respect. It is the policy of the Scottish Executive that crofting communities should have the opportunity to buy their croft land if the acquisition of the land would be compatible with sustainable development and in the public interest. A test of necessity would not be compatible with the achievement of that objective.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the estimate of one application per year to exercise the crofting community right to buy contained in the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, as referred to in paragraph 324 of the Explanatory Notes to the bill, how many such applications it estimates will contain a salmon fishing on adjacent land as one of the subjects of the application.

Ross Finnie: The provisions of the bill do not provide for the acquisition of salmon fishings located on land that is not eligible croft land nor do they allow areas of land in different ownerships to be covered by a single application. If, as we expect, crofting community bodies are properly informed as to what they will have a right to buy there will be no such applications.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to decisions in respect of applications under section 70 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, whether Scottish ministers are an independent and impartial tribunal for the purposes of article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Ross Finnie: No. However, decisions by ministers to consent to or to reject a crofting community right to buy application can be appealed in terms of section 88 of the bill to the sheriff court which is an independent and impartial tribunal for the purposes of article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. An aggrieved party would also have a right to resort to the courts using the remedy of judicial review.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends section 71(2) of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill to qualify the meaning of "the public interest" contained in article 1 of Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Ross Finnie: The purpose of section 71(2) of the bill is not to qualify the meaning of "the public interest" as used in article 1 of Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights, but to elucidate its meaning as used in the bill.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28090 by Ross Finnie on 26 August 2002, whether, in the light of that answer, the Minister for Environment and Rural Development will withdraw his statement that the essential requirement of compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights is compensation ( Official Report , Justice 2 Committee, 30 January 2002; c 995-6).

Ross Finnie: No. What I said to the committee has to be considered in the context in which it was said. The discussion was about compensation and adequacy of compensation is the essential requirement in that context. I did not say that provision of adequate compensation is the only requirement that has to be met in order to achieve compliance with the Convention. It is clear from the committee report that the committee understood that the exercise of the crofting community right to buy must also be in the public interest in order to be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances a crofting community body will be able to dispose of land that it has acquired under Part 3 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Ross Finnie: The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill contains no provisions that specify circumstances in which a crofting community body may or may not dispose of land acquired through the exercise of the right to buy. Any restrictions on disposal of land will be governed, where required, by the terms and conditions of the grant or loan documentation of the crofting community body’s funders, and by the crofting community body’s own Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Learning Disabilities

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit is of the implementation group for The same as you? .

Mr Frank McAveety: The remit of The same as you? Implementation Group is to: help to make all the recommendations of The same as you?  happen; lead in planning and advising on the way forward; identify and recommend priorities for change, and advise ministers on how The same as you? is improving the quality of services and the quality of lives of people with learning disabilities of all ages, and their families.

Learning Disabilities

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the implementation group for The same as you?  reports directly to the Minister for Health and Community Care and, if so, in what way and how frequently.

Mr Frank McAveety: In accordance with its remit, The same as you? Implementation Group advises ministers on progress with implementation of the review’s recommendations. Ministers for Health and Community Care receive regular written and oral reports from officials. I will also attend meetings of the group to discuss progress.

Learning Disabilities

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how long it will take to implement all 29 recommendations contained in The same as you? .

Mr Frank McAveety: The same as you? does not set out a timescale for implementing each of the 29 recommendations, although the National Implementation Plan set out in Appendix 2 sets some target dates. We made it clear when The same as you? was launched in May 2000 that it sets out a programme of change over 10 years.

Learning Disabilities

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people with learning disabilities have a personal life plan as referred to in The same as you? .

Mr Frank McAveety: The information requested is not held centrally.

Learning Disabilities

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Department for Work and Pensions regarding the impact on the implementation of The same as you? of any specific areas of concern relating to benefits and support for people with learning disabilities and what the outcome was of any such discussions.

Mr Frank McAveety: Scottish Executive officials have held initial discussions with officials in the Department for Work and Pensions on issues relating to benefits, and barriers to employment, for people with learning disabilities. On-going discussions aim to explore possible measures to improve support for people with learning disabilities seeking employment.

Legislation

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1719 by Mr Jim Wallace on 29 September 1999, when the research commissioned into business finance and securities over moveable property will be published.

Mr Jim Wallace: Summary findings and a full research report on Business Finance and Security over Moveable Property were published on Monday 23 September 2002. The research can be accessed on the Scottish Executive’s website and copies have been lodged with the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Local Government

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will next meet Dundee City Council and what issues will be raised.

Mr Andy Kerr: I meet with all councils from time to time to discuss issues of mutual interest but have no plans to meet with Dundee City Council in the immediate future.

Meningitis

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for an awareness-raising campaign on identification of symptoms enabling the early diagnosis of meningitis B.

Mr Frank McAveety: The Health Education Board for Scotland currently produces publicity materials which contain information on the signs and symptoms of meningitis and which encourage uptake of immunisation against Group C infection.

  The Executive also sponsors voluntary organisations working in this field, which produce a range of materials to raise awareness of all forms of meningococcal infection, including Group B.

National Parks

Mr Keith Raffan (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make an announcement about the proposed boundaries of, and planning powers for, the Cairngorms National Park.

Allan Wilson: The draft Designation Order, which includes details on the extent of the park boundary and the arrangements for planning, was laid before the Parliament earlier today.

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29771 by Mr Jim Wallace on 15 October 2002, what its estimate is of the costs of education to the Scottish Prison Service in the three years prior to April 2000 (a) in total and (b) for each prison.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  As was explained in answer to question S1W-29771, figures for the period preceding 2000-01 were not disaggregated in the same way as in 2000-01 and the following year. The SPS estimates that we spent around £1.6 million in 1999-2000, £1.5 million 1998-99 and £1.5 million in 1997-98. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-29278, S1W-29279, S1W-29280, S1W-29281 and S1W-29282 on 11 October 2002, why the information in those answers was provided by the Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and not by the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Justice.

Mr Jim Wallace: Because the questions concerned contractual matters involving the agency, for which under paragraphs 3.1 and 4.4 of the SPS Framework Document, the Chief Executive is responsible and accountable and for preparing the substance of responses to parliamentary questions on such matters.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has given any monies to East Ayrshire Council for the purpose of subsidising the wage costs of new staff members at HM Prison Kilmarnock and, if so, how much.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  No such monies have been given by the Executive.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been involved in any discussions in which it was decided that East Ayrshire Council should subsidise the wage costs of new employees at HM Prison Kilmarnock.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  I am not aware of any such discussions.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much East Ayrshire Council has spent subsidising the wage costs of new staff at HM Prison Kilmarnock in each of the last three years.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Whist this is properly a matter to be raised with the local authority concerned I have made some enquires and can confirm that we are not aware of any wage subsidies being provided by East Ayrshire Council to new staff at HM Prison Kilmarnock.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new staff members at HM Prison Kilmarnock have had their wage costs subsidised by East Ayrshire Council in each of the last three years.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  I am aware of no such subsidies.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-22444 and S1W-30578 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 February and 28 October 2002, on what estimates of prisoner population any contracts for prisoner places with private prison providers in respect of any period from 2011 to 2033 will be based.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Procurement decisions for prisoner places, whether in the public or private sector, are based on the best available population projections at the time of the decision and the contract term or projected asset life which provides the best economic value to taxpayers.

Renewable Energy

Alex Fergusson (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much public funding will be required for (a) establishing the proposed Robin Rigg Wind Farm and (b) the continuing operation of the wind farm over its lifetime.

Ross Finnie: The proposed development at Robin Rigg would, subject to obtaining all necessary planning consents, be eligible for funding from the UK capital grants scheme for offshore wind farms. Any decision to bid for such funding is for developers to take. The continuing operation of a wind farm once commissioned is a commercial matter for the operator.

Road Safety

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive with what private and public organisations the Scottish Road Safety Campaign has established partnerships as part of the Foolsspeed campaign; what the specific achievements of each partnership have been, and how these achievements have impacted on the speeding behaviour of drivers.

Lewis Macdonald: The Foolsspeed campaign was supported by 25 local authorities, for example through the display of the Foolsspeed logo on council vehicles, letter heads and road safety related material. Many authorities also negotiated free advertising space to display the logo, such as bus backs, parking tickets and library book carrier bags.

  All 22 Road Safety Units in Scotland promoted Foolsspeed in various ways, such as using the message to encourage slower speeds in the vicinity of schools in Fife. The display of the logo on wheelie bins in certain areas highlights the campaign to residents and makes it very visible to drivers when the bins are on the pavement.

  All police forces in Scotland have supported the campaign, partly through police road safety units, but also during periods of high profile enforcement initiatives such as Speedwatch.

  A number of commercial organisations, including Tesco, Safeway, Robert Wiseman Dairies and Transco have been involved in a variety of ways, for example displaying the logo on fleet vehicles and milk cartons, and promoting the Foolsspeed message with their drivers. Other companies agreed to promote Foolsspeed on their safe driving courses and to their drivers.

  An evaluation of the Foolsspeed campaign was published on 30 October. Copies of the research report, Changing Speeding Behaviour in Scotland: An Evaluation of the 'Foolsspeed' Campaign, have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 24874). This includes findings about the impact of the campaign on driver behaviour.

Science

Elaine Thomson (Aberdeen North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial assistance it has provided to Satrosphere, the science centre in Aberdeen, in 2002.

Iain Gray: The Executive has recently awarded Satrosphere a grant of £200,000 to help secure its long-term position as a centre contributing to the public understanding of science.

Scottish Transport Group Pension Schemes

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29484 by Lewis Macdonald on 14 October 2002, what information it holds on the number of persons eligible for payments under the Scottish Transport Group pension schemes and what its estimate is of the total number of such persons based on the records it has.

Lewis Macdonald: The initial records showed 13,369 potential beneficiaries satisfying the conditions for an ex-gratia payment. We have been notified of a number of deaths of which the majority have led to payments to dependants. We are seeking to identify any additional beneficiaries before completing payments to those already identified.

Sexual Offences

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people convicted of sexual offences in each of the last three years were at the time of conviction aged (a) under 18, (b) from (i) 18 to 21, (ii) 22 to 25, (iii) 26 to 35, (iv) 36 to 45 and (v) 46 to 55 and (c) over 55.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information available is given in the following table.

  Persons with a Charge Proved for Sexual Offences1 in Scottish Courts, by Age, 1998-2000

  


Age 
  

Year 
  



1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  



Under 18 
  

 45 
  

 29 
  

 33 
  



18-21 
  

 57 
  

 51 
  

 69 
  



22-25 
  

 40 
  

 39 
  

 43 
  



26-35 
  

 156 
  

 138 
  

 106 
  



36-45 
  

 95 
  

 93 
  

 76 
  



46-55 
  

 95 
  

 77 
  

 59 
  



Over 55 
  

 90 
  

 94 
  

 63 
  



All ages2


 578 
  

 521 
  

 449 
  



  Notes:

  1. Where the main offence was in the Scottish Executive Justice Department crime group Crimes of Indecency, excluding offences related to prostitution.

  2. Includes age not known.

Social Justice

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take as part of its strategy against poverty that would result in an improvement in the disposable income of households in Glasgow.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive is combating poverty by improving the disposable income of households in Glasgow through a range of actions. These include concessionary bus passes for older people, delivering our Warm Deal Central Heating programmes, supporting the child care costs of lone parents who are continuing their education and, alongside the UK government, providing real opportunities for people to work through the New Deal programme.

Social Work

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many criminal justice social workers there (a) currently are and (b) have been in each of the last five years and what their average annual wage is.

Dr Richard Simpson: Figures for the number of criminal justice social workers and senior social workers are available for the last three years. The figures are as follows:

  


1999 
  

627 
  



2000 
  

624 
  



2001 
  

612 
  



  Information on the number of all criminal justice social work staff from 1996-2001 is available in the statistical bulletin Staff of Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services, 2001 (available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00197-00.asp). A breakdown between social workers and other staff is not available prior to 1999.

  Information on salaries is not collected centrally.

Warm Deal

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was allocated through the Warm Deal scheme to each local authority in (a) 2001-02 and (b) 2002-03.

Hugh Henry: The allocations made to each local authority under the Warm Deal for the periods concerned are shown in the following table:

  


Council 
  

2001-02 
  

2002-03 
  



Aberdeen 
  

£70,000 
  

£40,000 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

£40,000 
  

£20,000 
  



Angus 
  

£40,000 
  

£30,000 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

£40,000 
  

£10,000 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

£60,000 
  

£30,000 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

£70,000 
  

£40,000 
  



Dundee City 
  

£150,000 
  

£30,000 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

£80,000 
  

£20,000 
  



East Dunbarton 
  

£50,000 
  

£30,000 
  



East Lothian 
  

£70,000 
  

£10,000 
  



East Renfrew 
  

£30,000 
  

£10,000 
  



Edinburgh 
  

£170,000 
  

£110,000 
  



Falkirk 
  

£120,000 
  

£20,000 
  



Fife 
  

£130,000 
  

£30,000 
  



Glasgow City 
  

£550,000 
  

£90,000 
  



Highland 
  

£60,000 
  

£10,000 
  



Inverclyde 
  

£60,000 
  

£10,000 
  



Midlothian 
  

£50,000 
  

£10,000 
  



Moray 
  

£30,000 
  

£20,000 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

£70,000 
  

£40,000 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

£260,000 
  

£160,000 
  



Orkney 
  

£20,000 
  

£10,000 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

Nil 
  

Nil 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

£90,000 
  

£20,000 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

£50,000 
  

£30,000 
  



Shetland 
  

£20,000 
  

£10,000 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

£80,000 
  

£50,000 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

£170,000 
  

£30,000 
  



Stirling 
  

£40,000 
  

£20,000 
  



West Dunbarton 
  

£80,000 
  

£20,000 
  



West Lothian 
  

£40,000 
  

£20,000 
  



Western Isles 
  

£20,000 
  

£20,000 
  



Total 
  

£2,810,000 
  

£1,000,000

Water Fluoridation

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated annual cost will be of the fluoridation of the public water supply should the proposals contained in the consultation document Towards Better Oral Health in Children be adopted.

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated capital cost will be of the plant that would be needed if the proposals to introduce the fluoridation of the public water supply contained in the consultation document Towards Better Oral Health in Children  are adopted and how long will be needed for the design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of the plant.

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, if the fluoridation proposals for public water supply schemes outlined in the consultation document Towards Better Oral Health in Children  are adopted, any public water supply schemes would be excluded from the proposals for technical reasons and, if so, which schemes would be so excluded.

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive which body would be legally liable for any damage to the health of members of the public which may be caused by fluoridation of the public water supply, both in the case of accidental overdosing of the supply and as a result of any long-term effects of the specified dose.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-30478 on 28 October 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Water Fluoridation

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any clinical trials have taken place on the effects of fluorine compounds dispensed to the general public through public water supplies.

Malcolm Chisholm: The York Review ( http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/summary.pdf ) considered all relevant and robust research on fluoridation and concluded that water fluoridation reduces levels of decay and that, apart from an increase in dental fluorosis (mottling), there are no associated adverse effects on health.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood Project

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-26366 on 10 June 2002, which individual expressed concerns about Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd during the routine project meeting between the Holyrood design team and project personnel in May 2001.

Sir David Steel: In my answer on 7 December 2001 in response to question S1W-20308, it was noted that concerns were expressed by EMBT/RMJM Ltd in May 2001 and that is to be taken as being their corporate view. Accordingly the "who" within that group is not relevant. Representatives from consultants to the parliament are expected to state a view on behalf of the body concerned and therefore naming of individuals is inappropriate and may also inhibit the free and frank provision of advice and exchange of views.

Holyrood Project

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the estimated losses arising from the insolvency of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd have now been assessed at £3.5 million, as stated by Sarah Davidson ( Official Report , Finance Committee, 8 October 2002, c 2230), or £3.85 million, as stated by the Presiding Officer in his answer to question S1W-27248 on 2 August 2002, and whether, in the light of Sarah Davidson's evidence referring to some of the elements comprised within the estimated losses arising from the insolvency, he will now provide a detailed breakdown of the computation of such losses.

Sir David Steel: There is no change to the previously reported cost to the project of £3.85 million, arising from the insolvency of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd. The breakdown is as follows:

  


Additional Costs Associated with Flour City Insolvency 
  

£000 
  



Net payments to Flour City 
  

£854 
  



Stone Cladding 
  

-£326 
  



East stainless steel vent Pods 
  

£1,729 
  



Window Units 
  

£120 
  



Timber and precast mullions and louvres and stone panels 
  

-£61 
  



East elevation support steelwork 
  

£497 
  



Bay Windows 
  

£937 
  



MSP Roofing 
  

£100 
  


 

£3,850

Holyrood Project

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, with regard to the statement by Paul Grice that there was a reduction to the cost of works packages where no performance bond was received in cases where such a bond was to have been provided ( Official Report , Finance Committee, 8 October 2002, c 2231), whether he will list those contracts where a reduction in the price was achieved, giving the amount of the reduction in each case.

Sir David Steel: For reasons of commercial confidentiality, I am unable to provide such a list of contracts. I can confirm, however, that payment for a bond is only authorised when the client is in receipt of an agreed and signed bond from the trade contractor’s surety; if this is not received either through choice or delay no payment is made. In the event that the client chooses not to proceed with the requirement for the bond, a net saving on the contract sum is achieved.

Holyrood Project

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what the meaning was of Paul Grice's statement that "there is an issue around performance bonds, which the corporate body is seized of and is pursuing at the moment" ( Official Report , Finance Committee, 8 October 2002, c 2231).

Sir David Steel: A review of the continuing need for Performance Bonds recommended by the Construction Manager was carried out by the Holyrood Project Team and the results were reported to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body in September. Every effort is now being made to secure these bonds where the continuing need has been established

Parliamentary Expenditure

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer how much expenditure, excluding entertainment and hospitality costs, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has authorised in each year since July 1999 for the Office of the Presiding Officer, showing costs associated with the Presiding Officer, Deputy Presiding Officers and staff of the office and travel costs separately.

Sir David Steel: The Office of the Presiding Officer has incurred the following expenditure (excluding hospitality costs) in each year since 1999:

  





1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  

2001-02 
  

2002-03
(6 months) 
  



Staff Costs 
  

34,000 
  

78,000 
  

95,000 
  

53,000 
  



Travel Costs 
  

7,000 
  

3,000 
  

7,000 
  

1,000 
  



Other Costs 
  

18,000 
  

18,000 
  

27,000 
  

14,000 
  



Total Costs 
  

59,000 
  

99,000 
  

129,000 
  

68,000 
  



  These figures incorporate the salaries and on-costs of the four staff providing support to the Presiding Officer and Deputy Presiding Officers. The lower staffing costs in 1999-2000, and to a lesser extent in 2000-01, reflect the initial set-up of the organisation when posts had not been filled.